Award Winning Works Draw Record Crowds to "2009 Member Student Exhibition and Art Sale"

Tequesta, FL (April 3, 2009)  The much anticipated “2009 Member Student Exhibition and Art Sale” at The Gallery @ The Lighthouse Center for the Arts opened with record breaking attendance at the April 2nd reception and awards ceremony. This annual exhibition favorite offers the community an opportunity to view 190 works of art produced by members and student as well as the chance to purchase works of art in a variety of media by up and coming and seasoned artists.

At the April 2nd opening reception attended by over 400 enthusiastic guests, Lighthouse Centerfor the Arts Executive Director, Sonya Davis presented awards to the deserving artists. A perfect example of the caliber of art on display is the work winning Best in Show, Diner at Dawn, a genesis oil painting.  This work by member and 2008 Member Student Exhibition first place winner, Peter Roth, captures the tranquility and promise of a new day through the use of shimmering neon light from the diner juxtaposed with the hint of sunlight creeping into the morning sky.

Earning the first place Christopher D. Norton Founder Award was Gwendolyn Eyeington for her oil painting, Everglades Reflection. Ms. Eyeington's work captures the surreal image of a barren dwarf cypress tree found only in the Shark River Valley in the Everglades National Park .  Placing second, winning the Mary Snow Corr Award was Anthony Alonso, for his oil painting, Tranquil Corner, and placing third winning the Mahlon Cline Award was Quince Quaintance for his oil painting, River Bend. 

“The wealth of talent displayed at this exhibition is outstanding,” said Ms. Davis. “The quality of paintings, innovative photographs, and outstanding three-dimensional pieces serve as a testament to the level of local creativity. This is a wonderful opportunity to see just how talented your neighbors are in this community and to support the Arts right in your own backyard".

Receiving Awards of Merit were: Jack Keough, Streetside Café; Tess Lindsay, Flower Array; Ruth Petzold, Chinese Food Served Here; Barbara Roehl, Still Life with Green Vase and Mary Jane Willis, The Shack.  Honorable Mentions given to: Leslie Rogers Blum, The Portfolio; Barbara Danenberg, Sisters; Wheaton Mahoney, River Sunset; Joseph Pierre, The Sharecropper and John Wells, Saggar Fired.

The judges for the 2009 exhibition were Terry Wallace and Dorotha Lemeh.  Mr. Wallace was the curator of the recent exhibition “Caroline M. Bell and the Peconic Bay Impressionists”.  Mr. Wallace specializes in Long Island painters and is the owner of the Wallace Gallery in East Hampton, NY .  Dr. Lemeh is an Assistant Visual Arts Professor at the Honors College, Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter.

“2009 Member Student Exhibition and Art Sale” runs through April 24^th and is free and open to the public. The Gallery @ The Lighthouse Center for the Arts is located in the Gallery Square North Plaza , 373 Tequesta Drive , Tequesta, FL., ½ mile west of US Hwy 1, and is open Monday-Friday from 10 am - 4:30 pm. For more information call 561-746-3101.

-END-